Tag Archives: customers

For those of us that are lucky enough to work from home each day, the management of our time is crucial in order to keep the income flowing. One of the great things you take away from the freedom of being in your own business is that freedom.

One of the definitions of freedom is being able to do what you wish, but that isn’t always the case when you operate a business on the home front. Major distractions come along to ruin tasks through the week that had to be completed. Maybe a disruption of some kind happened during one day with a freak thunderstorm knocking out power service in your area causing havoc on projects planned for that day. You know the drill. That work has to be made up, adding to your workload.

Making a Project List The Night Before

No matter who we are, a good idea to keep in mind is going over what must be done the next business day and developing a list. This is important because it prevents us from having so much on our minds to try to remember.

Instead of waking on the next day thinking back on what has to get done, we can jump on the list with the morning coffee. Work seems to be easier to do with a pre-made list from the night before. Instead of forgetting to complete a task, we know everything on the list will be done as we check off on each assignment.

Remember this, operating a business huge or small has to have time management. They will be times when social media is a no-no. They will be other times when multitasking has to be done. In fact, they are times when we all want to take a much-needed break but the workload just won’t allow it.

Abilities To work from Anywhere

With today’s technologies, we CAN work from just about any location that we please. The great thing about this is that we are no longer limited to a business location, home or office.

You can work from a chair on the beach with a portable fully charged laptop and that handy cell phone while sipping a drink. A hotel room taking a mini-vacation doesn’t necessarily mean that work is off limits. If your business requires you to work while away, then so be it.

Many take frequent trips to get away from it all but in reality; their business goes right along with them. They wake in the mornings and go back to work if something has to be completed by a scheduled time. No matter where you are, business can be performed in some nature.

How I Manage Time

Have you ever heard the phrase, “There is just not enough time in the day to do all that I have to do?” I have heard it out of many others. They make excuses for why they can’t accomplish things because they have no idea how to manage time.

My workweek generally starts on Sunday night when I make that next day’s list to be completed. Typically, my day starts around 8:30 in the mornings averaging into late at night. During the day, I might have to do the “honey list” also in-between work but that is part of family, and it is a necessary part of it. Before the day ends, that list has been completed, hers and mine.

Before leaving my desk, a list is drawn up for the following day on what has to be completed, and it is the same routine the next day. I usually work six days a week, but sometimes I have a chance to take a weekday off to be with the family.

Many times, I’m not at home when at work. I may be off on a leisure trip or getaway to relax in another location, but all the work with business still gets accomplished. You can make time either work in your advantage or let time be your worse enemy.

In conclusion, I want you to ask yourself one question if you operate a business for yourself. “How do I manage my time?” You might find that time is being wasted in a technological age where it shouldn’t happen.

Nothing is quite as sweet in the Indie Publishing World than having happy readers. The great thing about them is if you please them once, they’re more inclined to buy another book from you in the future!
That’s the great thing about your customers. They show their love and loyalty to you when you please them. They also have this delightful manner of obtaining referral customers for you by emails and word of mouth.
To earn this repeat business from past readers, offer them more quality and value in any future books you write to publish. Earn that extra word of mouth and Internet referral business by doing the things that you have learned in the past.

If you know who some of your readers are, email them, phone them in person or just target an article on your website to them and ask them to tell their friends about you and your books. This is a great referral opportunity for you as a publisher to reach out to those readers that love what you do and ask them for a little tenderness.

Always treat your loyal readers with love, loyalty, devotion, consideration and professionalism. That will always keep them happy and satisfied. The more satisfied your reader’s stay, the more satisfied readers you’ll gain in the future.

Satisfied readers not only buy your books but they are one of your greatest allies in selling more books!
That is a powerful sentence written above! It deserves to be repeated again!
“Satisfied readers not only buy your books but they are one of your greatest allies in selling more books!” It runs a complete circle around their friends and right back to you in more books sales! Now how nifty is that?

You see the image above? Yes, my image with my money but used here for the pupose to drill into you a business sense to make sure you’re doing everything that you can to make those customers happy. Those customers being the ones that buy a product, service or book from you!

In the business environment, the only way to make it work is by top quality customer service. That goes into any type of business enviroment. Oh, but I’m only an author writing books someone might say. Think again! If you write to publish books online to sell, then you are a business. You’re also the manager and ceo of said business.

Not everyone knows who their readers or customers are that buy books from them. Yes you do! They leave reviews about your books, you may be talking to customers who buy your books on book forums. People that like you on FB or follow you on twitter might be some of your customers. They might be on a email sign-up form from your website.

Always find time to thank your customers for purchasing from you. In closing this article, here is a great way to thank them without lifting a finger. At the end of a book, Always leave a sentence or two explaining to them how grateful you are to them for purchasing one of your books.

You never know, they just might buy another one from you! Have a nice week.

Some of the key ingredients of having those repeat customers is making sure to meet every need of those customers both new and repeat buyers of your service or products. What are some of those basic needs you have to meet?

Great Services! Every customer expects to receive the service they buy or receive to be the best for the amount of money they might spend. This applies to products you sell to them also. Everyone in any type of business should do their very best to meet the customer’s expectations of them or their company.

Quality for the Money! Customers expect the products they buy to be durable and long lasting. The products should live up to the customer’s expectation. This applies to a service you might sell to customers. They expect the service to be better than others so you as the one in business have to make sure your service excels above all others.

Thanking those Customers! Customers need to know that they’re appreciated for buying from your business or products. Everyone in business, large or small should make sure to follow this golden rule.

Fair Pricing! Customers in today’s economy are always looking for the best bargain for their dollars. It is important to provide that value for the customer but make sure that it provides a profit above the cost of maintaining the business that you’re operating.

Failure to follow the above four principles can lead to disastrous consequences! The business loses those dollars. There could be potential job losses from not meeting the desires that customers might expect from the business.

The business could lose its respect from others as well as its reputation! Word travels quickly about bad services or negative actions from a business. Don’t let this happen to you.

As always, you want to remember why you’re in business to start with and who keeps your business thriving. It is those customers! The new customer, the repeat customer or the returning customer!